Blond Bombshell - Photos with Lauren Pt.1

When we're hanging out, and we're bored (or not bored), what do we do? Photo shoots! Model: Lauren, Photographer: Me! Please don't use our images for anything without permission, thanks!

Steveston

A few weekends ago we went to Steveston. It's a boardwalk/on the ocean/quay type place, with lots of quaint shops selling souvenirs, fish and chips, ice cream, and handmade things. I brought my SLR camera with me, and decided to make a day of it, and photograph anything and everything that interested me.  

Forefront to back: My mom, Lauren, Tracy

More photos behind the cut. Click below to see them. :)

In case you hadn't heard. :P

(made this typographic thingy with some photos I took yesterday) 

Pictures from the Past

I was looking through a bunch of memory card photos, and starting feeling rather nostalgic...

My mom's handmade soaps, getting ready for sale at Granville Island.

An old painting from about a million years ago. I did it for my portfolio at the time. 

A pretty shop window.

A Scrumptious breakfast. Eggs benny with mushrooms and brie, roast potatoes, and fresh fruit. Yum!

A little pigeon friend at the harbour. 

A rainy spring day. 

Something glitzy I made.

Miss Meowmurs herself, the Hun-bun of my heart. <3

A tiny art card I owe to a friend. 

Hope you enjoyed this little trip to the past. :)

Mmm homemade baked macaroni!

Yesterday I tried my hand at cooking 'Emma's Favourite Baked Macaroni', and it was AMAZING. When I looked at her photos and the ingredients list, I had little doubt of its deliciousness. The only doubt I had was whether or not it would turn out like my last cooking adventure (which ended verrry badly). 

I don't know if it was the ease of the recipe, or that I may be a secret genius, but the pasta turned out to be absolutely delicious! We had it with some white wine, and I even lit a few candles (it's a special event when I cook from scratch haha). The pasta was soooo good that I had a hard time not having a second serving, but I wanted to save enough for a second meal today, so alas. 

For the cheesy pasta lovers out there, I can't recommend this dish enough, and I'll definitely be making it again. 

You can find the whole recipe at Emma and Elsie's blog, A Beautiful Mess. The only changes I made were adding five garlic cloves, a lot more dry mustard, and Clubhouse's Italiano Spice Mix, to the roux (sauce). I also ended up using chicken stock rather than vegetable stock, as that's what I had on hand. (I also didn't include the chives [not in season here I guess] and red peppers).

Tomorrow I'm going to be making another culinary wonder... I wonder what it will be?!

Bunnies and Kitties!

One of my favourite things about visiting my friends from Kelowna is their backyard... It's filled with all sorts of strange mushrooms and fungi hidden in the overgrown grass, there's raspberry bushes galore, and little furry creatures hopping about...  

Meet Angel and Sunshine, the rabbits, Barney and Windsor, the old cats, and Jack-Torch, the youngest cat of the bunch (we had adopted him initially, but it didn't work out (he has aggressive tendencies, and liked to hump/clobber our other cat, and they re-adopted him, and he's very happy now!). 

The last picture is of Lauren, while we were taking some reference photos for Christina Lank (a brilliant painter), and Jack jumped into the photo. We had a difficult time herding him out of the shots, and eventually had to bring him inside.

Our Kelowna friends have recently moved to the Vancouver area, so I happily get to see them AND these little creatures quite often now! 

New Years Goals for 2013

My Goals for 2013

1. Finish a 365 Project 

I had been thinking about this one for a while. My idea was to take a photo a day outdoors and then do a blog post once a week summarizing those photos. Well the one hitch in this plan was that I wanted to do this little feature using the instagram app, on my ipad. Turns out I wasn't able to afford an ipad in time for the new year, but hopefully in a few weeks I will be able to. Now I have to decide whether or not to start the feature using a regular camera instead... hmm... what do you guys think?

2. Sell Art & Grow Art Biz

The title is self explanatory. I feel kind of all over the place when it comes to my 'art career'. I am not sure how to get the kind of exposure I need to sell art, and yet to do the things I need to do to get the exposure I need to sell art, I first have to have popular art that people want.... and there's the cycle of confusion. I do have a plan though - I am going to look at what I've been doing, and see where the weaknesses lie, and where I can focus my energy and improve. 

3. Live Healthier & Make Positive Choices

It's a live long goal for me, to strive to live a healthy life (food and exercise and mental well-being), and make conscious, positive choices for my future. I want to make what I envision - a reality. Thoughts into actions.

4. Spend more time with people

I'm a bit of a hermit, for many, many reasons. But I find the more that I hide away into myself, the harder it is for me to be around others. I get bored easily (thinking of all I could be getting done at home), have difficulty with conversation (feel anxious and awkward due to not practicing my conversational skills, which is pathetic), and my list of close friends has dwindled. I want to feel the joy of being around others, going on adventures, and sharing memories and good conversation. 

5. Publication

I've had a taste of publication, and I must admit, it's addicting. This year, I aim to have a piece of art published in Spectrum 20. *crosses fingers*

6. Art Show

Whether a solo show, or a group show, I'd love love love to be a part of an art exhibition, at a modern/lowbrow art gallery. Unfortunately, I missed my chance in 2012. But I am hoping for new opportunities this year!

7. Be HAPPY!

Another one of my life-long goals, that I always want to improve upon. I want to bring and build happiness in my life and the lives of others.

8. Grow a HUGE garden on my balcony

I had big plans for my faerie garden last year, but they only got so far as some strawberry plants. This year I want to make a huge herb garden/faerie oasis. 

9. Cook at home

We already do a lot of cooking at home, but I'd like to get a bit more creative in the kitchen, and perhaps post some of my culinary wonders. 

10. Makeover the Apartment

I want to do a major overhaul on this place. Plans are already in the works, and I am looking forward to sharing!

11. Go Camping

I had a few chances last year, but was feeling far too anxious and agoraphobic to go. I am surprised I even made it to Kelowna in September. So this year I am determined to get out there and put up a tent and build a campfire, somewhere in the woods. Kayaking would be cool too. 

12. Work on my Wardrobe 

My wardrobe needs a lot of work. Any extra money I have goes to new supplies or business expenses... so this leads me to wearing the same pair of runners four years in a row, and the same pair of flip flops in the summer. Kinda gross, and kinda sad. Will be expanding my wardrobe a great deal in the coming weeks... I plan to ravage the thriftstores and if I have any extra dough, get a few special things from modcloth. 

12. Make a video of some sort

I've been thinking about making a video for a while, but wasn't really sure what I should do, so I kinda let the idea drift in the abyss of my thoughts. Then I found the nifty-ist app for the ipad, 8mm Vintage Camera and was instantly inspired! Another creative idea I want to try when I get an ipad. Here's a cool test video on youtube by Daryl Spong. 

What are your goals?
Happy Thursday! :)

Dinner by the Boardwalk

This Winter has been extremely busy and productive for me!

I finally finished my Snow White painting, photographed a whole slew of new ear cuffs and ear drops for the shop, and have been getting regular sales now that the Christmas season is in full swing (along with an awesome custom order a customer is having me make for his girlfriend). On top of all of this, I've been working on a huge site update for my illustration/portfolio website. It's high time for a change!

Speaking of change, I have to change my sleeping hours. I'm not going to tell you how bad they are, just that they're somewhere between night owl and vampire. It's pretty bad. *cries*

Now for some photos from summertime, when I was visiting friends in Kelowna!
We went to a restaurant right by Okanagan Lake, and climbed the stairs up to their roof top lounge. Lauren and I split the yummiest salad ever, along with some delicious quesadillas. I also tried some Japanese imported beer that was quite tasty, and that's saying something, because I hate beer.

A dorky picture of me and Lauren at a restaurant, on her ipad.
I love her, Tracy and Marcus so much! :)

A view of the patio/lounge from where I was sitting.

Before the sun had gone down, the little lights were lit

Food! Yummy Quesadillas.

Yummy Salad

After we stuffed ourselves silly, and were feeling a bit giddy from the beer, we decided to go for a walk along the boardwalk, down by the lake, which was brightly lit and quite lively. I really do love night time photography in the city. The photos are always so vibrant, blurry (in a good way), and unexpected.

Boats under some beautiful night time lighting

I hope you enjoyed the photos! :)